The personal information collection and management policies, practices and procedures implemented by California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) are governed by law. CDFW sets forth the following privacy policy in compliance with Government Code Sections 11015.5, 11019.9, the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Civil Code Section 1798 et seq.), and Fish and Game Code (5500-9101). All employees who collect and/or maintain personal information strive to comply with the provisions of this policy.

Definition of Personal Information

"Personal information" includes, but is not limited to: any information that identifies or describes an individual, including his or her name, date of birth, social security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, email address, education, financial matters, and medical or employment history.

Collection and Use of Personal Information

The purposes for which CDFW may collect personal information will be specified at or prior to the time such information is collected. The personal information collected is relevant to the purpose for which it is needed. Any subsequent use of the information will be limited to and consistent with the fulfillment of those purposes previously specified.

CDFW will not disclose, use for any purpose other than as specified at the time it was collected, or make available any personal information collected, except with the written consent of the subject of the information or as otherwise permitted by law or regulation.

CDFW will not distribute or sell any electronically collected personal information about users to any third party except where obligated by law. It should be noted that electronically collected personal information (cookies, etc.) is exempt from requests made under the California Public Records Act.

If any type of personal information is collected on our web site or volunteered by the user, State law, including the Information Practices Act of 1977, Government Code Section 11015.5, and the federal Privacy Act of 1974 require that it be protected.

The State may provide or distribute certain lists and statistical reports of regulatory information as allowed by law and all relevant legal protections still apply to the State’s web sites.

Protection of Personal Information

We strive to protect personal information against loss, unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification or transfer. CDFW employees responsible for the collection, use, maintenance, and/or dissemination of records containing personal information are trained to take appropriate precautions, including but not limited to authentication, monitoring, auditing, and encryption to ensure that proper administrative, technical, and physical safeguards are employed and maintained in order to protect the confidentiality of such information. Employees are trained to remove or redact personal information when data becomes obsolete.

Individuals have a right to access their information and may request a correction of any inaccuracies. To request access or correction of your information please see the contact information listed at the bottom of this document.

Website Collection of Personal Information

When you visit our website, you should be aware that files called “cookies” may be created on your machine. These cookies are used to “remember” what a user has done on previous pages / interactions with our websites. These cookies in combination with Google Analytics are used in many ways including, performance improvement, maintaining user preferences and providing metrics that are used to understand trends in the use of our website. Cookies stay resident on your machine until they are removed.

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. Information on how to delete cookies from your computer can be found at the following website: http://www.aboutcookies.org. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to use some services on our websites. If you choose to delete cookies from your browser, any settings and preferences controlled by those cookies will be deleted and may need to be recreated when you next access the Website. Fish and Wildlife prohibits any third party web beacons on its websites that collect or access your personal information.

When you visit our websites transaction log information is collected, which includes: your domain name or Internet Protocol address, browser type, requests submitted, date and time the website was accessed, and statistical information about which web pages you visited. This information is defined as electronically collected personal information, as defined in Government Code 11015.5. Under Government Code 11015.5, if you choose, you may have any personal information collected about you discarded without reuse or distribution, provided we are contacted in a timely fashion. In order to request that we discard your transaction log information, please see the contact information listed at the bottom of this document.

If you voluntarily participate in an activity that asks for specific information (i.e., completing a request for assistance, personalizing the content of the web site, sending an e-mail, or participating in a survey), more detailed data will be collected. If you choose not to participate in these activities, your choice will in no way affect your ability to use any other feature of the web site.

Transaction log information will be used by CDFW staff in order to help us manage and improve our websites. This information is used only for internal purposes, allowing our staff to measure the number of visitors to the different sections of our web site and to help improve our website for future visitors.

Responsible Official and Contact Information

The CDFW Privacy Officer is responsible for the overall implementation and enforcement of this privacy policy.

Questions, comments or complaints regarding this privacy policy or requests for personal information access, correction, or deletion should be sent to: privacy@wildlife.ca.gov